Snow White and the Huntsman was a slightly rushed production, and a (more than) slightly frustrating viewing experience, but it might be performing well enough that Universal is really going forward with a sequel. The studio started talking to David Koepp about scripting a sequel in the last couple months, and Koepp is now scripting a Hunstman sequel that Universal is looking to fast-track.

Who will direct? Rupert Sanders who made his feature debut with the first movie, is a very possible choice, but he isn’t locked yet.

Deadline says that the particular deal that led to Sanders directing the first film also was a one-time thing, so he isn’t bound to do the sequel. (The lead actors are; they’re optioned for two more films, as is standard for tentpole fare.) But Deadline, at least, seems to think the sequel is high on the list of possible next projects he’s considering.

I’ve got an interesting theme in mind [for Huntsman 2], so we’ll see … if it’s right, we’ll do it, if it’s not, we won’t. And I’m working on a story about the beginnings of the Drug Enforcement Administration in New York. Then there’s another thing I wrote, kind of a science fiction version of the battle of Algiers …

And how well is Huntsman really doing? Good question. Before the film opened Universal lowered box-office expectations, and that low bar ended up being exceeded. So by that warped metric, the film is doing great! And it is doing fairly well, with just over $71m domestic, and a total global gross of $118m. For a movie that reportedly cost $170m that’s not stellar performance, but it isn’t a bomb. It’s in that middle zone where voodoo studio bookkeeping takes over, and where the possibility of further revenue streams (DVD, broadcast rentals, etc) starts to be as important as what the movie has already made. Evidently Universal sees things going into the black, even if the current box-office gross isn’t stellar.

And of the sequel we know little, though it seems likely to continue the not-quite romantic triangle established in the first film. And Nick Frost thinks the dwarfs will play a bigger role:

I think you meet the dwarves at a point where the story needs some comic magic, and that’s our main job in this first one. We support and provide comedy relief. As much as the film is quite dark and gothic and is meant to be creepy, more Lord of the Rings-y than Mirror, Mirror, perhaps. I do think the dwarves are being prepped for film two.